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Monozukuri Ventures hits Final Close of its Second Fund

Monozukuri Ventures (HQs: Kyoto, Japan, and New York, USA; CEO: Narimasa Makino; ), an investment fund specializing in hardware startups, announces the final close of its 2nd Fund in July 2022. Glory Co. Ltd., EXEDY Corporation, and THK Corporation have newly joined the Monozukuri Ventures Fund.

About Monozukuri 2nd Fund

In addition to the IoT startups MZV has invested in, the Monozukuri 2nd Fund targets the "manufacturing innovation" to support not only in "manufacturing DX" but also in "materials and components," "advanced manufacturing technology," "procurement and supply chain," etc. So far, the Fund has invested in 23 startups (including additional investments) in Japan, the US, and Singapore. In the hardware area, partnering with small and medium-sized prototype companies is essential in prototyping. Also, partnering with major companies is critical in mass production and sales. We have partnered with those companies to strengthen our support for startups in terms of prototyping and business development. Through the 2nd Fund, we promote business collaboration between US startups and major Japanese manufacturing companies. Arieca (Pittsburgh, USA), which develops semiconductor materials, partnered with Nissan Chemical and ROHM in April 2022. As trade friction between the US and China heats up, more and more US startups are seeking to collaborate with major Japanese manufacturing companies. MZV aims to go beyond mere investment to promote business collaboration of those large manufacturing companies and startups. In Japan, MZV is investing in startups focused on deep tech. EdgeCortix is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in A.I. Mitate Zepto Technica develops high-speed genome analysis technology using cutting-edge semiconductor technology. Rutilea provides DX solutions for manufacturing and inspection processes using hardware and AI. All those companies seek to create innovation by promoting collaboration with large companies in the manufacturing sector. MZV aims to create a world where entrepreneurs can quickly produce and sell high-quality products, even in small quantities, through our investment in seed to early-stage hardware startups and technical consultation on prototyping and mass production. We will continue to support startups aiming to expand globally and help create innovation and new businesses in the manufacturing industry in Japan and abroad.

2nd Fund Participants

Kyoto Shinkin Bank (京都信⽤⾦庫), Musashi Seimitsu (武蔵精密⼯業株式会社), Murata Machinery (村⽥機械株式会社), Yanmar Ventures (ヤンマーベンチャーズ株式会社), ROHM (ローム株式会社), Glory (グローリー株式会社), EXEDY (株式会社エクセディ), THK (THK株式会社), Allen Miner (in random order)

About Monozukuri Ventures
Monozukuri Ventures (abbreviated as MZV), based in Kyoto and New York, manages venture investment funds for hardware startups and provides technical consulting on hardware prototyping and manufacturing. MZV launched the first Fund in the summer of 2017 and the second in 2021. MZV has invested in a total of 57 hardware startups (26 in Japan, 30 in the US, and 1 in Singapore). MZV also provides technical consulting services based on the knowledge and network from prototyping to mass production. MZV has supported more than 150 manufacturing projects, mainly startups. (All figures are as of August 31, 2022)